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Feb 21, 2015

Booze with just Apples.

Apples (or pears).... all our prepper peeps will agree having fruit trees and bushes is a must in a survivor garden. Apples are one of those trees that you can get a bounty from...and even an over bounty. But the beauty of the amazingly sweet apple is that its skin is covered with wild yeasts...SCORE!!Sugar + yeast = booze......Yeast
devours sugar and booze is born.Sure if you go to all the wine site and home brewer sites they will tell you to add this and add that. ect. But we are talking prepper's. Making due with what we have. We have Apples and a jug. A Few pre side notes: you can add more sugar or honey to bring up the alcohol grade. A few raisins can help you bring up the yeast content if you do not want to take the chance that the apple skins have enough

Hard cider is dry, or hard,it is not a sweet alcohol.

15
pounds of apples (pears) = One gallon of booze.

This will only make.6% alcohol(the more sugar or honey you add the stronger the booze) But this post
is about not adding anything but the apples.

First
we need the juice.

***Now you can do it the cheater way..buy some
already unpasteurized apple cider or juice.Which will at least allow you to learn and refine how to make it, with a
lot less work.

But
for now here is how to make the juice/cider

So …. start with around 15 pounds of apples
for one batch. You can use kinds of apples and even add a few pears.All apples will work even crab apples . Make
sure the fruit is ripe and cut off any blemishes and wash them,….BUT LEAVE THE
SKIN ON!

Cut them into quarters and get rid of the
seeds ( or save them for some other prepper purpose).

Put the pieces in a pot and
fill with water, just enough to cover the apples. Simmer them till they become
very very soft. (15lbs about an hour)

Put a piece of linen or cheesecloth like
fabric in a strainer ( I did not I just did it in the strainer)and pour your apple juice into it (into
another pan of course). An remember to press down on them to get all the juices
out of the apple pulp. (this plup can be ground to be apple butter, and apple
sauce later).

You should let this drain over night just
to make sure you got all the juice.

You can filter this juice (with a coffee
filter)to make is clear…BUT WHY!!!Leave to thick. It is yummy that way.

Next day heat up the juice (optional add
honey, cinnamon even a splash of a citrus)Let cool and add to Jars or containers. DO NOT fill all the way…leave a
few inches empty.

This
is where this funny balloon set up comes into play. Now you can go out and buy
all the curlicue glass corks and yada yada stuff.

These are the things that the balloon will be taking the place of.

The balloon is the best in my eyes. NOW but
that cider in the jug...

Put the balloon over the opening.(I would tape in on for extra security
because it could pop off or use and elastic wrapped tight)

Poke a pin hole in the top of the balloon.

Within an 1hr to 24 the balloon will start
to inflate, This means that your yeast is transforming the contents into hard
cider.. gases are now forming and are escaping through the pinhole. The balloon
insures that gas escape and no contaminates get inIf the balloon gets to big you can poke
another hole or 2.

This
is what the cruddy foam will look like so don't panic.

Around 6 to 10 days the cider will begin
looking frothy and may foam over the top. This is normal,simply wipe off
the bottle, replace balloon if needed or re-secure it.

After 2 weeks or so the balloon will go
limp and the foaming will stop....and tada.....hard cider... Now
this all depends on if you put sugar in it....more sugar the longer it
will take. It may only take a few days if you are doing it with no
additives.

***
if for some reason your balloon is not inflated that means you do not have
enough yeast...add a few raisins....this should get the ball rolling. Also the
smell may get a bit funky...don't freak out that is normal.

This
is totally a trial and error thing. So the first batch may not be so
great...but each time it will get better. That is why I suggested the cheater
juice at the top of this post.

Warning**

Unpasteurized,
or fresh, cider may contain bacteria that cause illness, such as E. coli or
Salmonella. Harmful bacteria must be killed by a pasteurization process prior
to drinking the cider.

To
pasteurize, heat cider to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit, 185 degrees
Fahrenheit at most. Measurethe actual temperature with a cooking thermometer.
It will taste less ‘cooked’ if it is not boiled. Skim off the foam that may
have developed and pour the hot cider into heated, clean and sanitized plastic
containers or glass jars. Refrigerate immediately.

Here
I think this is the best page I have come across with all things Hard apple
cider. Click Here